This blog features observations from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. Send news items or comments to rturner229@hotmail.com

Monday, February 22, 2016

Joplin City Manager provides weekly update

(Joplin City Manager Sam Anselm provided the following update to City Council members Friday.)

Good afternoon, everyone. Please see below for this week’s update.

Key Meetings

-On Tuesday, Director Bolander and I met with a developer to discuss an independent
living, assisted living, and memory care facility for the benefit of our senior citizens in
the Joplin area. This is not the same project that we approved at the intersection of 26th
and McClelland Blvd using CDBG-DR funds; instead, it would be a market rate
development in a different part of the city. Their research confirms our housing study
data that shows enough demand for both projects to be successful. Pursuant to council’s
approval on Tuesday, we have submitted a letter of support to the developer for their
application to the state department of health.

-On Wednesday, Director Bolander and I met again with a different developer to discuss
two possible retail projects in the city. At this point the developer wishes to keep things
confidential, but as information comes forward that I can share, I will pass it along. Or if
action is required by the council, we will get you involved at the appropriate time.

-On Thursday I visited with Major Douglas Stearns with the Salvation Army to learn
about a couple of projects they have planned for their property, and to educate them on
our process for getting approval for those projects.

-On Thursday afternoon, I attended a meeting of the Solid Waste Commission to hear
details from Republic Services about the recycling component of the new solid waste
contract, which will hopefully come to you for approval on March 7th.

Miscellaneous

-Attached to this week’s update is the annual report from the Joplin Municipal Court. If
you have any questions about the information contained therein, please let me know, but I
would like to commend Court Administrator Lamonte Ratcliff and his staff for their
efforts over the past year. Particularly, they have been diligent in their response to
address the issues contained in the municipal court audit report that was released by the
state.

-We recently opened bids for the demolition of the naval reserve building on
Schifferdecker, next to the parks maintenance office. $170,000 was budgeted for the
project including slab removal, but parks staff have approached me with an idea of
retaining the slab in order to build a storage facility for their equipment needs. We are
researching the cost of that project, but until I can provide more information, you can
expect a contract for the asbestos remediation and removal of the building at a future
meeting. The low bidder on just removing the asbestos and the buildings submitted a
price of $140,000. I have asked our parks director to provide an update on where we
stand with respect to other department projects funded through the parks & storm water
sales tax. That information will be provided to you in a future update.

-I was notified this afternoon that due to nice weather this week, the contractor has poured
the foundation to the new library building, and that the walls for the building will be
constructed in mid-March, nearly a month ahead of schedule, due to delays in other
projects.

-Invitations for Bid will be going out early next week for the other component of our solid
waste program, which allows residents to drop off bulky items at a transfer station.

About Me

I am a former teacher in the Joplin and Diamond, Missouri, school districts. Before entering the teaching field, I spent 22 years as a reporter and editor for various Southwest Missouri newspapers. I have published three novels, Small Town News, Devil's Messenger, and No Child Left Alive, and seven non-fiction books, The Turner Report, Newspaper Days, Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud, Greed, Corruption, and the Joplin Tornado, 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado, Spirit of Hope: The Year After the Joplin Tornado, Scars from the Tornado and Let Teachers Teach.

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